Amflow’s SUV-Style Touring E-Bike, CPSC Issues Stop-Ride Order for Ridstar, Amazon & UL Win Counterfeit Certification Lawsuit │ TWR Ep 91

Amflow’s new TL is an SUV-style e-bike built to handle commuting, long-distance touring, and trekking, with enough trail manners to venture off-road too. It blends eMTB styling with a more upright, commuter-friendly riding position, and it’s built around a 6.4-lb carbon fiber frame with full Fox suspension, 120mm up front and 105mm in the rear. The bike is compatible with 27.5, 29, or mixed wheel setups, and Amflow says an anti-squat design keeps pedaling efficient even under full suspension travel.

Power comes from an Avinox M2 mid-drive with up to 125 Nm of torque, paired with a Traction Control System that adjusts output automatically to help maintain grip. Riders can run a 600 or 800 Wh main battery, and an optional range extender pushes total capacity up to 1,280 Wh for a claimed 169 miles of range. A TRP electronic derailleur handles shifting, and the bike can carry up to 440 lbs total (rider, bike, and cargo included) with a trailer, panniers, or other luggage attached.

On the tech side, the TL pairs with the Avinox Ride app for offline navigation, includes Apple Find My for location tracking, and can sync with a heart rate monitor to automatically adjust power and keep riders in a target zone. Amflow also showed a charging hub that recharges up to four batteries in sequence, with a settable charge limit to stop topping off once a battery hits a set percentage. The TL was shown at Eurobike in multiple configurations, including one with drop bars.

Our Take:

The range numbers here are what stand out most. A 1,280 Wh total capacity with a range extender is a lot of battery for a single bike, and 169 miles puts this firmly in a different category than most commuter or touring e-bikes we’ve covered. The heart rate integration is a nice touch for anyone using an e-bike as part of a fitness routine rather than just point A to point B transportation. We’d like to see final pricing and a US release timeline before getting too far ahead of ourselves, but on paper, this looks like a serious touring platform.

Amazon and Underwriters Laboratories filed suit back in January against four companies and an individual over trademark counterfeiting, trademark infringement, and false designation of origin. The companies in question made and sold e-bikes and e-scooters that falsely claimed UL certification. Three of the companies were based in China and one in Hong Kong.

The complaint stated that the defendants’ actions infringed and misused UL’s intellectual property, breached contracts with Amazon, and undermined the trust customers place in both companies. Seven models sold by Aipas and A4 were listed as falsely bearing the UL trademark. A judge for the US District Court for Western Washington ruled in favor of Amazon and UL on some claims while dismissing others, and issued an injunction barring the companies from importing, manufacturing, distributing, or promoting any product using a counterfeit or imitation of UL’s certification marks, or from helping others do the same.

We previously reviewed the Aipas M2 Pro around the same time it came out that the company had falsely claimed its batteries used Samsung cells. The bike’s webpage still claims UL 2849 and UL 2271 certification for the bike and its battery. We’ve reached out to the testing lab, SGS, to verify those documents and will report back on what we find.

Our Take:

Fake certifications are one of the more dangerous problems in this industry, because a UL mark is supposed to mean something specific about how a battery was tested. When that mark shows up on a product that never went through the process, riders are trusting a label that doesn’t hold up. This ruling won’t fix the whole problem on its own, but it’s a real consequence for companies that have been getting away with it. We’ll update this story once we hear back from SGS.

The CPSC has issued a new warning telling owners of Ridstar’s Q20 and Q20 Lite e-bikes to stop riding them immediately. These same models were already the subject of a battery safety warning back in March, when 11 fire-related incidents had been reported and Ridstar refused to agree to a recall.

This latest warning is about the front wheels, which can detach without warning and create a serious crash hazard. As of June 25th, the CPSC had logged 32 related incidents, 31 of which involved broken bones, concussions, cuts, and bruises. Ridstar has again been unresponsive to the agency’s efforts to get more information or start a recall. The CPSC is urging owners to stop using these e-bikes and dispose of them, with batteries taken to a local household hazardous waste center. The bikes were manufactured in China and sold through AliExpress, Amazon, Walmart, and Ridstar’s own site.

Our Take:

Two separate safety warnings on the same model in a matter of months, with no recall and no response from the manufacturer, is about as bad as it gets. A detaching front wheel is not a minor defect. We’d add that this is a good example of why thru-axle designs, which use a threaded bolt instead of a quick-release skewer, are worth seeking out. If you or someone you know owns one of these bikes, stop riding it.

Galian’s new Formidable is a French-built cargo e-bike with both a rear seat and a front passenger compartment, giving it a claimed capacity to carry up to four kids at once. The front compartment uses 5-point harnesses, while the rear seat has a folding handrail so parents don’t have to lift kids into place. Total carrying capacity is 250 kg, or 551 lbs.

The frame is made in France from 7000-series aluminum with a 10-year warranty, and buyers can choose between a Valeo Cyclee mid-drive with 130 Nm of torque and an integrated automatic gear system, or a Bosch motor with 120 Nm paired to a 9-speed Shimano CUES drivetrain. Battery options run from a 630 Wh pack on the Valeo system to 545 Wh or 800 Wh packs on the Bosch version. The bike uses a steer-by-wire system with up to 90 degrees of tire turn for tight maneuvering, along with 3-inch balloon tires, 4-piston hydraulic disc brakes, and 203mm rotors. Pricing starts at 7,500 Euros, with options for an alarm, location tracking, and a passenger canopy.

Our Take:

This is a genuinely capable design, and the four-kid capacity alone sets it apart from most family cargo bikes we’ve seen. We’d love to see more options like this reach the US, but for now, Europe still has the edge when it comes to cargo bike variety and features like steer-by-wire tuning.

ARC’s Cedar Drift Cycling Sneakers are artisanal, small-batch, handcrafted leather mountain biking shoes designed for use with clipless SPD-compatible pedals. They’re waterproof and built with a composite shank for efficient power transfer, a composite midsole for support, and a reinforced toe box for structure and protection. A lace cover with a snap keeps laces clean and prevents snagging. They’re priced at $240.